Trespassing caused today’s Makkasan train accident, says SRT

The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) has described as “misleading” viral social media reports claiming that a train ran into a person in Bangkok’s Makkasan district this morning, insisting that the incident was caused by a trespass onto railway property.

According to the SRT, the incident involved suburban train No. 367, operating between Bangkok and Chachoengsao, which struck a man at about 10.40am near telegraph pole 6/3-4, between Makkasan and Khlong Tan stations, shortly before the Asoke halt,.

The incident occurred only about 800 metres from where a freight train collided with a bus on Saturday, killing eight and injuring many others.

The statement said the train had been operating normally and that there was no operational fault on the part of the railway staff.

It said the injured man had ridden a motorcycle to the area, parked by the roadside and climbed over a safety barrier separating the road from the railway zone to relieve himself near the tracks.

The train driver sounded the horn as a warning, but the train was unable to stop in time because of the long braking distance required for heavy rolling stock, the SRT said.

The authority stressed that the incident should not be portrayed as the train “running into” a person, saying the collision resulted from the man unlawfully entering a restricted operational area.

The accident disrupted rail operations, delaying services by 22 minutes and affecting passengers, according to the SRT.

The SRT reiterated its warning that fenced railway areas are strictly off limits to the public and urged people not to climb over barriers, walk along tracks or use railway property for personal activities under any circumstances.

It said trespassing on railway tracks poses a serious danger to life and can disrupt the country’s public rail transport system.